Utopia Baptist Church

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, in my own words. Back before July 20, 1886, a small group of believers in Utopia, Texas, had already done the hard work of organizing themselves into a congregation. Nine charter members, to be exact.

Mrs. Margaret Bownds. Mr. and Mrs.

L. D. Bownds.

Mr. and Mrs. Jake Croft. Mr. and Mrs.

Andrew Jackson Sowell. And Mr. and Mrs. J.

B. Reynolds. Nine people, and they had enough faith, enough grit, and enough nerve to walk right up to the Rio Grande Baptist Association and petition for membership.

That petition went in on July 20, 1886. The Rev. Lawrence S.

Cox stepped in as the first pastor of the Utopia Church. Nine new members were baptized that very same year. Nine in, nine more joining.

The little congregation was already growing. Now, they didn't have a building of their own yet. The Methodist congregation, generous neighbors that they were, shared its facilities with the small Baptist congregation until the Baptists could get a place of their own.

That moment came in 1892, when the congregation purchased land from Robert Kincheloe, one of Utopia's founding citizens. And then they waited, and they saved, and they built. The building itself went up in 1912.

Three years later, by 1915, that church was drawing a hundred and fifty regularly attending members. From nine charter members to a hundred and fifty. That is not a small thing.

Somewhere in the 1920s the congregation was renamed Utopia Baptist Church. And out behind the building, or maybe off in a clearing somewhere, they held revivals under a brush arbor, the way it had been done across Texas for generations, until a tabernacle was constructed in 1928 to give those revivals a proper home. The church wasn't only looking inward, either.

It supported a small mission in nearby Vanderpool and was instrumental in the establishment of the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment. This congregation had reach. And then the world called, twice.

The church was represented by volunteers during the First and Second World Wars. Member Leslie Bownds was wounded in World War I and died on the journey home. That line deserves a pause.

Wounded, survived long enough to be headed back, and never made it. Several young men and women of the church volunteered in World War II. Roy D.

Tampke gave his life in that conflict. These names are on the marker. They deserve to be said out loud.

A new church building was dedicated in 1952, and the congregation carried on through the second half of the twentieth century. When the marker was placed in the year 2000, Utopia Baptist Church was still going, still holding to the traditions of those original nine, still offering programs of worship and service to the community around it. Nine people walked into a petition meeting in 1886.

What they started is still standing.

What the marker says

The Utopia Missionary Baptist Church was organized before July 20, 1886. On that date the congregation petitioned the Rio Grande Baptist Association for membership. The first pastor of the Utopia Church was the Rev. Lawrence S. Cox. The nine charter members were Mrs. Margaret Bownds, Mr. and Mrs. L. D. Bownds, Mr. and Mrs. Jake Croft, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Jackson Sowell, and Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Reynolds. Nine new members were baptized that year. The Methodist congregation shared its facilities with the small Baptist congregation until a Baptist church was erected. The Baptists purchased land from Robert Kincheloe, one of Utopia's founding citizens, in 1892 and erected a building there in 1912. By 1915 the church had 150 regularly attending members. During the 1920s the church was renamed Utopia Baptist church. The congregation held revivals under a brush arbor until a tabernacle was constructed in 1928. In addition to its programs in Utopia, the church supported a small mission in nearby Vanderpool and was instrumental in the establishment of the Alto Frio Baptist Encampment. The church was represented by volunteers during the First and Second World Wars. Member Leslie Bownds was wounded in World War I and died on the journey home. Several young men and women of the church volunteered for service in World War II; Roy D. Tampke gave his life in that conflict. A new church building was dedicated in 1952, and the church thrived in the second half of the twentieth century. At the dawn of the 21st century, Utopia Baptist Church continues in the traditions of its founders with programs of worship and service. (2000)